Analyzing how the San Francisco 49ers can fix their offensive line.
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00:00 Let's talk about this Niner O-line problem.
00:01 Yeah.
00:03 Everyone, all of a sudden people like they got to prove the right side of this offensive line.
00:07 It's terrible.
00:08 Yeah.
00:10 It's the same issue in the first Super Bowl that they lost when they had Mike Persson and
00:14 Mike McGlinchey over there.
00:15 Do you think what do you think the Niners could, should, would do about it?
00:20 Well, let's talk about what they should do.
00:23 It's hard to predict what the Niners will do because they always surprise me.
00:27 It seems like what they should do is, and I think what I think they're going to do,
00:32 I think the starting five to finish the season will also be starting to start the next season,
00:37 but they should also be investing heavily in the offensive line for the future.
00:43 McGlinchey's on going into his last year.
00:45 Brindle, I believe, is going into his last year.
00:48 Burford, we don't know what's going to happen to Burford.
00:51 Feliciano's a free agent right now, so I don't even know if they're going to bring him back,
00:55 especially after he kind of threw Burford under the bus.
00:59 I don't know how that's going to work out, but I would not surprise me at all if we get
01:02 the same offensive line starting for the 49ers this year, but they really got to start thinking
01:07 about long term what they're going to be doing with this line.
01:10 If they want to be competing heavily in the future, they need some studs, man.
01:16 They really need some studs.
01:17 They can't be okay with just mid-level offensive line outside of Trent Williams.
01:21 Aaron Banks has had really good moments.
01:23 He's an upper, he's like a B guard in my opinion, but all those other guys are just kind of like,
01:28 it's kind of there, right?
01:29 They're okay.
01:30 Brindle's okay.
01:31 Feliciano, Burford, they're okay.
01:34 McKibbins is like, "All right."
01:36 You can't get by with that.
01:37 This game is winning, lost, and in the trenches, and the 49ers have been trying to get by and
01:41 win Super Bowls with being okay on the offensive line, and it has not worked.
01:46 They need studs.
01:47 They need some difference makers out there, and that's been the biggest problem with the
01:50 49ers.
01:51 In seven years, Grant, in seven years, only one has kind of hit, which is Aaron Banks.
01:57 I mean, you can argue McGlinchey, but to me, that's not a hit.
02:00 That's a miss, right?
02:02 Especially for how high they drafted him.
02:03 We'll see what happens to Burford.
02:05 Maybe he works out, but in seven years, really one good one, Aaron Banks, that they've drafted.
02:11 They got to change that, and that's the biggest problem.
02:13 Well, the way I see it is like, it's just an issue of prioritization.
02:19 In the salary cap era, you can't be strong everywhere.
02:22 I mean, you can be, but you have to decide where you want to make your biggest investments
02:26 financially and where you want to save money financially.
02:30 Every team makes that choice, that bargain, and the Niners consistently have decided to
02:35 save money on offensive line and the secondary.
02:37 I wouldn't do that.
02:39 I would rather save money on the defensive line than the offensive line.
02:42 That's just me, but until they decide, like, they're the opposite of the Chiefs.
02:46 The Niners are saving money not only on the offensive line, but at quarterback.
02:49 They won't be forever, but the Chiefs are the opposite.
02:53 So I think with an offensive genius like Kyle Shanahan, who knows exactly what he wants,
02:59 you don't have to spend a ton of money on wide receivers and running backs.
03:04 You don't.
03:05 Andy Reid doesn't.
03:06 He's doing great things with Isaiah Pacheco and Rasheed Rice.
03:10 That's enough for him.
03:11 He just spent, oh, he spends on his tight end too.
03:14 Other than that, as long as the Niners are so committed to spending the most on wide
03:19 receivers and running backs, they're always going to be weak at offensive line.
03:22 Always.
03:23 It's the tradeoff they expect.
03:24 Well, they don't prioritize it.
03:26 I think most people, if you asked them, what are your most important positions on a football
03:31 team?
03:31 Most people will tell you number one is quarterback.
03:33 Most people will tell you number two is protecting that quarterback.
03:38 Not only that, this is a really run heavy team.
03:41 So it's not just about protecting the quarterback.
03:44 It's about opening up the run game.
03:46 If you had better offensive linemen, this run game is going to improve, which is a major
03:50 part of this team.
03:52 But even when John Lynch was interviewed, when he joined the 49ers, they asked him what
03:55 their priorities were.
03:57 Their priority was quarterback and then defensive line.
04:00 They didn't even mention the offensive line when they asked what their priorities are
04:04 for building the team.
04:04 So it starts at the top, their philosophy and how they prioritize it.
04:08 There's something about this team, about Kyle Shannon and John Lynch, that thinks they can
04:12 get by with technique and schematics with average linemen.
04:17 They think if you just get a really good left tackle, you're good.
04:20 Protect the blind side, you're good.
04:22 Everything else we could figure out.
04:23 That hasn't been the case.
04:25 It's been a continuous problem for the 49ers.
04:27 They need to readjust how they look at this team and how they prioritize.
04:31 They need to get on board with the rest of the whole freaking NFL.
04:34 Your second most important position on any football team is your offensive line, period,
04:41 point blank.
04:42 And it's time that the 49ers start treating it as such.
04:45 - You have to train at IUC for an offensive lineman.
04:49 - I don't think you need to.
04:52 I don't think it helps.
04:53 I don't think training at Brandon and IUC is going to make that much of a difference.
04:55 I think those are really good.
04:57 This is maybe one of the strongest linemen class in a long time.
05:01 There's going to be some really good offensive linemen.
05:04 And I think no matter who they draft- - I haven't dug into any of these players
05:08 yet.
05:08 So I just want to say that.
05:08 - Yeah.
05:09 There's some talented dudes out there.
05:12 And I think they're going to be available at 31.
05:14 There's going to be some tackles out there.
05:16 But the scary thing for me is on the exit interview, Shanahan again said, "Hey, we're
05:21 not going to prioritize an offensive line."
05:24 Right?
05:24 He literally said, "We're not prioritizing any position heading into the draft."
05:28 And maybe that's a little smoke and mirrors, not giving away your hand.
05:31 Hopefully that's what it is.
05:33 But if they truly believe they don't have an issue at offensive line, you can expect
05:37 more of the same moving forward.
05:39 You can expect this 49ers team to do really well, go far, ultimately lose because of this
05:44 offensive line.
05:45 That's been the issue.
05:46 They got blown up against the Eagles in the NFC Championship game last year.
05:49 And they got blown up against the Chiefs this year.
05:52 - They did.
05:56 They did.
05:57 - It's the problem.
05:58 You can't win.
06:00 - It's the problem.
06:00 - You can't win.
06:02 - When the Chiefs lost the one Super Bowl, it was because of their offensive line.
06:07 And they learned from there.
06:08 Like, "We're never letting this happen again."
06:09 - Right.
06:10 - "We are absolutely making this our number one priority."
06:12 How come the Niners can't learn like that?
06:15 It's been a huge reason why you guys haven't won your two Super Bowls.
06:18 And you're just going to run it back with Colton McIvitts, the right tackle?
06:21 No offense to Colton McIvitts.
06:22 He's doing the best he can.
06:24 I have respect for the job he's doing, but can't you get...
06:29 I mean, you have a fourth-round pick and a fifth-round pick who are overachieving on
06:31 your offensive line.
06:32 Can't you find some premium talent to add to the competition?
06:35 - Well, it's because they do what they do.
06:37 They do what they do.
06:39 They don't change.
06:40 They don't learn from anything.
06:41 Give me an example of something they learned from.
06:43 Give me one example, Grant, of something they saw happen to them that ended their season,
06:48 and they're like, "Never again.
06:50 We're going to change that."
06:51 Give me one example of that.
06:52 I haven't seen one.
06:53 - Well, okay.
06:54 I'll try.
06:55 I mean, they had Joukowsky-Tart drop that interception.
06:58 All of a sudden, it dawned on them, like, "Oh, we need safeties who can catch the ball."
07:01 So all of a sudden, they're bringing in these playmakers with ball skills.
07:04 Like, it seems like at certain positions, they may make little tweaks, but at offensive
07:09 line, they're like, "Sorry, we just don't invest in this position.
07:12 It's just not what we do here."
07:13 - It doesn't make any sense to me, man.
07:16 - Imagine if you did.
07:16 - Think about this 49ers team with Harbaugh's offensive line.
07:22 Think about how freaking good they would be.
07:26 - Yeah.
07:27 - Just ridiculous.
07:28 - And that's the big difference between Harbaugh and Kyle.
07:31 Harbaugh doesn't mess around on the offensive line.
07:34 Kyle does.
07:34 - Yeah.
07:36 I guarantee you Jim Harbaugh's going to go in that position.
07:38 I guarantee you.
07:39 Watch what Jim Harbaugh does in LA.
07:42 I keep wanting to say San Diego Chargers, but look what he does in LA with these Chargers.
07:46 I promise you he's going to invest in that offensive line from the get-go because it's
07:50 so important.
07:51 Most people understand this in football.
07:54 For some reason, Kyle doesn't think it's important.
07:56 It's just we need a good left tackle and we're good.
07:59 It's not going to cut it.
08:01 It's not going to be good enough.
08:02 You've lost this team, Jed York.
08:04 You've lost three Super Bowls straight.
08:05 You got to figure it out.
08:07 You got to do something different.
08:09 The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different
08:13 results.
08:14 What you need to do differently is invest in this offensive line.